The Federal Government on Tuesday said that four federal colleges of education and two polytechnics had been converted into universities.



The affected institutions are the FCEs in Kano and Zaria; Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri; and Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo. They are now to be known as universities of education.



Others are Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos and Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna, which are now to be known as universities of technology.



The Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i, made this public while receiving the report of the Implementation Committee on Guidelines for Degree-Awarding for Colleges of Education and Polytechnics.



She promised that the Federal Government’s White Paper on the matter would soon be issued for onward transmission to the Federal Executive Council. She said that FEC would be expected to give necessary approvals for the affected institutions to commence full activities with their new status.



The minister said the upgrading of the six institutions to degree-awarding status was to improve access to university education in the country.



She decried the situation where less than 15 per cent of candidates seeking university education were successful during the just concluded admissions exercise.



To members of the committee, she said, “We can assure you that we will now take action and draft a White Paper for the government and seek FEC’s approval for these colleges and polytechnics to start awarding degrees.”



Rufa’i also expressed the commitment of the Federal Government to strengthen the capacity of the National Open University of Nigeria, as part of efforts to improve access to tertiary education in Nigeria.



Earlier, the comitteee’s Chairman and Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof. Julius Okojie, while presenting the report to the minister, said the selected institutions met stipulated guidelines.



He said they were found worthy, in line with an earlier recommendation of a report for their conversion.



Meanwhile, the Federal Government has said that a National Secondary Education Commission, to be saddled with the responsibility of regulating secondary education, is soon to be established.



Inaugurating a 20-man committee to draw up guidelines for its implementation in Abuja on Tuesday, the education minister noted that the vacuum created by the lack of a statutory body to oversee secondary education, was responsible the dwindling fortune of secondary schools.






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